wp-php-architecture

WordPress PHP Architecture Patterns

This skill encodes battle-tested architecture patterns for WordPress PHP development. Every pattern is adapted to WordPress realities: global state, hook-driven execution, no native DI container, and the functions.php bootstrap model. Use these patterns to write WordPress code that is testable, maintainable, and scalable.

1. Repository Pattern for WordPress

Wrap all data access behind repository classes. Never scatter $wpdb calls or raw WP_Query usage across business logic.

Base Repository Interface

interface PostRepositoryInterface {
    public function find_by_id( int $id ): ?object;
    public function find_all( array $criteria = [] ): array;
    public function save( object $entity ): int;
    public function delete( int $id ): bool;
}

WP_Query Repository Implementation

class ProductRepository implements PostRepositoryInterface {
    private string $post_type = 'product';

    public function find_by_id( int $id ): ?Product {
        $post = get_post( $id );
        if ( ! $post || $post->post_type !== $this->post_type ) {
            return null;
        }
        return $this->hydrate( $post );
    }

    public function find_all( array $criteria = [] ): array {
        $defaults = [
            'post_type'      => $this->post_type,
            'posts_per_page' => 20,
            'post_status'    => 'publish',
        ];
        $query = new WP_Query( array_merge( $defaults, $criteria ) );
        return array_map( [ $this, 'hydrate' ], $query->posts );
    }

    public function save( object $entity ): int {
        $args = [
            'post_type'    => $this->post_type,
            'post_title'   => $entity->get_name(),
            'post_content' => $entity->get_description(),
            'post_status'  => 'publish',
        ];
        if ( $entity->get_id() ) {
            $args['ID'] = $entity->get_id();
            wp_update_post( $args );
            $id = $entity->get_id();
        } else {
            $id = wp_insert_post( $args );
        }
        update_post_meta( $id, '_product_price', $entity->get_price()->amount() );
        update_post_meta( $id, '_product_sku', $entity->get_sku() );
        return $id;
    }

    public function delete( int $id ): bool {
        return (bool) wp_delete_post( $id, true );
    }

    private function hydrate( WP_Post $post ): Product {
        return new Product(
            id:          $post->ID,
            name:        $post->post_title,
            description: $post->post_content,
            price:       new Money( (float) get_post_meta( $post->ID, '_product_price', true ) ),
            sku:         (string) get_post_meta( $post->ID, '_product_sku', true ),
        );
    }
}